Indypendent Events Calendar: February 17-29

Movie screenings, musical performances, plays, public forums, discussions, book release parties and more. Here are some of the cultural events happening around NYC for the rest of this month that we think you may find of interest. If there is an event you would like to see listed in our online events calendar, please email contact@indypendent.org.

WED FEB 17

6pm-Free

MOVIE SCREENING: TIMBUKTU

Mauritanian director Abderrahmane Sissako’s film Timbuktu (2014) has been revered for its attempt to dramatize what happens to a community under occupation by Islamic extremists. Beautifully shot, the film not only records the excesses of the occupiers (lashings, stonings, and a litany of the forbidden) but also compassion and pathos, as if the stark divisions presented are not sustainable, even by those meant to enforce them. The film will be followed by a discussion of politics and art led by Peter Hitchcock and Mustafa Bayoumi.

The Black Presidency: Barack Obama and the Politics of Race in America provides a provocative, lively dive into the meaning of America’s first black president and first black presidency, from acclaimed author, radio host and Professor of Sociology Michael Eric Dyson. Dyson will be in conversation with MSNBC correspondent Joy Reid. A book signing will follow.

MUSIC: BLACK HISTORY MONTH: NIGHT OF NEW MUSIC FEATURING THE UNTEMPERED TRIO & MUSIC NOW! LARGE UNIT

This performance includes "The Untempered Trio" at 7pm, featuring Bill Cole (Sona, Hojok, Piri, Didgeridoo & Flutes), Ras Moshe Burnett (Tenor Sax and Flute), and Stephanie Griffin (Viola), and the Music Now! Large Unit at 8pm, premiering the new piece "Black Spirits-Past and Present" written by Ras Moshe Burnett.

READING: BORN ON THE EDGE OF RACE AND GENDER: A VOICE FOR CULTURAL COMPETENCY

Join Willy Wilkinson, a mixed heritage, Asian American trans man and social movement leader who has been advocating for marginalized populations since the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and the author of Born on the Edge of Race and Gender: A Voice for Cultural Competency for a provocative reading and discussion about the unique, difficult, and sometimes comical experiences of transgender life, with resources on how to create trans-affirming systems throughout society.

Bluestockings Bookstore & Cafe

172 Allen Street

212-777-6028 – bluestockings.com

THURS FEB 18

6:30pm – Free

SCREENING: AFRIPEDIA

Afripedia is a docu-series and a visual guide to art, film, photography, fashion, design and music. With Africa and the world constantly evolving, the image of Africa and Africans needs to change too. We will screen two episodes of the docuseries with a talkback to follow. This program is presented through an annual collaboration with the African Film Festival. Watch the trailers from Senegal, South Africa, Kenya, Angola, Ghana.

DISCUSSION: THE POST APARTHEID MOMENT: AN EVENING OF SOLIDARITY WITH THE WESTERN CAPE ANTI-EVICTION CAMPAIGN

For more than a decade the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign has been one of the most prominent organizations of South Africa’s militant poor, fighting against evictions and police brutality, as well as for free basic services and quality health care in the country’s working class townships and informal settlements. This event will feature the WCAEC Chairperson Ashraf Cassiem and clips from a documentary about South Africa in transition from racial apartheid to neoliberal capitalism.

Calling all young poets, MCs, artists, performers & activists, the Mayday Space youth fellows are hosting an open mic night that will present live performances, art making, music, and a supportive space for expression. Hit them up if you want to share your voice and your talent.

Stanford Professor Mark Jacobson will present on wind technology's implications for our climate, members of the National Wildlife Federation will discuss environmental impacts, wind power professionals from Deepwater Wind will discuss business implications, representatives from UPROSE will discuss the environmental justice context of this issue, and representatives from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3 will explore how wind power could impact workers.

St. Peter’s Church

619 Lexington Ave. (54th St.)

SAT FEB 20

7pm – $30/$15 students and seniors

PLAY: IN THE HEIGHTS

Written by Lin-Manuel Miranda (the creator of Hamilton), In The Heights won the 2008 Tony awards for Best Musical and Best Original Score. Set in the mostly Dominican and Puerto Rican-American neighborhood of Washington Heights, this musical touches on gentrification, immigration, and the competing desires to stay and to “get out” of the neighborhood.

What is the continued relevance of Malcolm X’s teachings in relation to present day racial and religious struggles in the U.S. and globally against anti-blackness and Islamophobia? A conversation between theologian, Dr. Obery Hendricks and activist, Linda Sarsour will be moderated by anthropologist and journalist, Dr. Barbara Nimri Aziz.

This film tells the story of how Cuba in the 1970s and 80s sent an army of 300,000 soldiers across the ocean in an amazing act of principled anti-imperialist internationalism that helped bring about the independence of Namibia and the fall of the apartheid regime in South Africa.

Join us for a discussion of Joshua M. Price’s book Prison and Social Death. A compelling blend of solidarity, civil rights activism, and social research, the work offers a unique look at the American prison and the damage it inflicts on prisoners and parolees who are separated from desperately needed communities of support from parents, spouses and children.

Bookstore & Cafe

172 Allen Street

212-777-6028 – bluestockings.com

TUE FEB 23

7pm-Free with RSVP

PLAY: EN EL TIEMPO DE LAS MARIPOSAS/

IN THE TIME OF THE BUTTERFLIES

“In The Time of the Butterflies” by Caridad Svich tells the story of the Mirabal Sisters who inspired resistance cells throughout the Dominican Republic against the dictatorial regime of Gen. Rafael Trujillo. The ‘butterflies’, their secret code name, were brutally murdered by the regime in 1960. Through a magical production based on Julia Álvarez’s popular novel, the martyred sisters come to vibrant life in a warm, brilliant, and dramatic production.

Vocalist and composer Sarah Elizabeth Charles’s smooth, soulful voice has captured audiences worldwide. Her most recent album, Inner Dialogue, “is a work of confidence and maturity … and a hip blend of styles, suggestions, and sounds” (All About Jazz). This concert will also feature new works inspired by the song “Somewhere” from West Side Story and written by young people in the Manhattan community in collaboration with Charles as part of The Somewhere Project, a citywide creative learning project that honors Carnegie Hall’s 125th anniversary.

CUNY philosophy professor Linda Alcoff will discuss her new book on how changing demographics are having a profound impact on the racial identity of white, European Americans in the United States. Change is on the horizon, and the most important battleground is among white people themselves.

Hailed as “rich in emotional nuance and gestural beauty” and one of the best dance shows of 2015 by the New York Times, Dapline! is a long-form meditation on the ritual handshake, "the DAP", a conduit for black identity and solidarity and easily interpreted as an acronym for dignity and pride, with origins in a state of Black consciousness of the late 1960s among Black G.I.s during the Vietnam War.

Hosted by the Institute for Research on Women, Gender and Sexuality, this conference will together activists, scholars and artists to examine the tensions between utopian ideals and the daily realities of activist work, discussing strategies for practicing utopian politics within — or in opposition to — the institutions that shape our lives.

The Harlem Repertory Theater is honored to include Lorraine Hansberry's groundbreaking, New York Drama Critics' award winning drama, A RAISIN IN THE SUN in its current season. An American classic, it takes place in the late ‘50s in a south side Chicago apartment, chronicling the lives of the members of an African-American family. In James Baldwin's memoir The Price of The Ticket, he writes that "Hansberry believed in her soul that art contained the energy necessary to produce action–action she believed was essential to creating social change".

Panelists will address the creative and courageous responses they have developed to sustain their work as activists, scholars and visionaries working toward housing justice, ending poverty and incarceration, and building feminist knowledge production as theory, research, teaching, and praxis. Visionary activist and thinker Reina Gossett will be the keynote speaker. Lunch, coffee, and snacks will be provided. Register Online

EXCHANGE & ART BUILD: BREAKING THE CHAINS! WITH THE COALITION OF IMMOKALEE WORKERS

Join the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and the Alliance for Fair Food as they prepare for their #WorkersVoiceTour mobilization to hold the fast food chain Wendy's accountable. The day’s events include a 25-minute short film screening of the documentary, Food Chains, an exchange with CIW & movement folks/farmworkers in NYC, and an art build to prepare for their March 3rd action.

This enlightening discussion will focus on memory, commemorations, and legacies of the slave trade and slavery, and feature panelists John Cummings and Ibrahima Seck of the Whitney Plantation and Museum; Columbia University professor Saidiya Hartman; architect Rodney Leon; and University of Pennsylvania professor Salamishah Tillett.

DISCUSSION: FAMILY, WELFARE, AND THE STATE: BETWEEN PROGRESSIVES AND THE NEW DEAL

From the book by Mariarosa Dalla Costa, a discussion with Silvia Federici. “Family, Welfare, and The State leaves no doubt that the New Deal was not only the last resort to save capitalism from the danger of working class revolution, but was also in essence a productivity deal that was structured to maintain a patriarchal and racist order.” —Silvia Federici, from the Preface